The first Saturday back at college for students is filled with socializing and parties. At St. Lawrence, the annual tradition of Raft day carries on. Raft Day is a giant party during the daytime that takes place at the senior townhouses but ends up progressing down to Grasse River. Like most college parties, drinking is involved, as it adds to someone’s excitement to go out.  

SLU Emergency Medical Services (EMS) set up a tent along Park Street to provide their services to those who needed them. They were able to give out water and help with more serious issues. Throughout the day, EMS dealt with four student transports and multiple skin lacerations.  

Arlo Dobbie ‘26 found that the location of the tent was very helpful for his Raft Day experience. After cutting his hand on glass, Dobbie went to the EMS tent to get it looked at. “If they were not by the river, I would not have gone,” he said. “I was just like ‘I’m fine,’ and then we were walking over to Raft Day and I saw them and decided to get it checked out just in case. The tent location was top-notch, and I am excited for Raft Day 2023. Shout-out to everyone who helped me,” Dobbie continued.  

For others, Raft Day is just another Saturday in the North Country. Students found that some of the normal amenities on campus were closed due to Raft Day festivities. Alexandra Hill ‘23 and a group of friends found that the gym was closed during typical hours due to Raft Day. Hill found few alternatives for those who did not want to participate.  

“I would say that SLU endorses the party culture and drinking culture and acknowledges that there are probably people who do not partake in the in the drinking culture in the same way. They are not the best at giving alternatives,” Hill said. SLU did try to offer an alternative to the typical party culture by showing a movie in front of the student center in the evening. Hill found that while the effort was there, the experience was less enjoyable. People walking through the movie to Java caused many disruptions.